പേജുകള്‍‌

Friday, January 17, 2014

'Borgman' tells the story of a drifter (Jan Bijvoet) that slowly but
suddenly takes control of the lives of a young, wealthy family living in
a beautiful mansion somewhere in the Netherlands. The movie begins with
a scene in a forest, where Borgman, i.e. the drifter, and some of his
associates are chased from their underground hiding places by a group of
holy workers (lead by the-always-inspiring Pierre Bokma). Soon after
their escape, Borgman alone seemingly randomly knocks on the doors of
the houses of very wealthy people, asking if he can use bathing
facilities in their house. In attempt to do good after a brutal beating
by her husband (Jeroen Perceval), Marina (Hadewijch Minis) helps Borgman
by giving him temporary shelter in the garden shed. That was all that
the intimidating but darkly intriguing character of Borgman needed to
unfold his diabolical plans...

Although Borgman is a layered surrealistic film, and probably therefore
sometimes slow and hard to understand, its message is clear and the
story is continuously compelling. Especially intriguing are the biblical
aspects, which are always subtly present in the background, and which
give the film a dark, tense character. Not being a religious person, the
movie does trigger an interest in the spiritual, or better,
meta-ethics, which won't leave you alone for several days afyer having
watched it. The excellent performances of Jan Bijvoet and Hadewijch
Minis are crucial in delivering the very strong script.